Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi

The Pataudi family traces their origin to Faiz Talab Khan, an ethnic Pashtun from the Barech tribe of Kandahar, Afghanistan, who became the first Nawab of the Pataudi State in 1804.

He was educated at Minto Circle in Aligarh and Welham Boys' School in Dehradun (Uttarakhand), Lockers Park Prep School in Hertfordshire (where he was coached by Frank Woolley), and Winchester College.

He read Arabic and French at Balliol College, Oxford.

Nawab Mohammad Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (also known as Mansur Ali Khan, or M. A. K. Pataudi; 5 January 1941 – 22 September 2011; nicknamed Tiger Pataudi) was an Indian cricketer and a former captain of the Indian cricket team.

Pataudi was appointed India's cricket captain at the age of 21, and described as "one of (its) greatest".

Pataudi was also called the "best fielder in the world" of his time by commentator John Arlott and former England captain and contemporary, Ted Dexter.

Mansur Ali Khan was the son of Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, the last ruler of the princely state of Pataudi during the British Raj.

Although the princely state of Pataudi had been merged with India after the end of the British Raj in 1947, he held the title until the entitlements were abolished by the Government of India through the 26th amendment to the constitution in 1971.

Pataudi Jr., as Mansoor came to be known during his cricket career, was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler.

He was a schoolboy batting prodigy at Winchester, relying on his keen eyes to punish the bowling.

After the death of his father in 1952, Pataudi succeeded him in receiving a privy purse, certain privileges, and the use of the title "Nawab of Pataudi" under terms accepted earlier when princely states were absorbed into independent India.

His father died while playing polo in Delhi on Mansoor's eleventh birthday in 1952, whereupon Mansoor succeeded him as the ninth Nawab.

He made his first-class debut for Sussex in August 1957, aged 16, and also played for Oxford while he was at university and was the first Indian captain there.

Between 1957 and 1970 Mansoor, following his countrymen Ranjitsinhji and Duleepsinhji, played 137 first class matches for Sussex County Cricket Club scoring 3,054 runs at an average of 22.29.

He captained the school team in 1959, scoring 1,068 runs that season, beating the school record set in 1919 by Douglas Jardine.

He also won the public schools rackets championship, with partner Christopher Snell.

On 1 July 1961, he was a passenger in a car which was involved in an accident in Hove.

A shard of glass from the broken windscreen penetrated and permanently damaged his right eye.

A surgeon named Dr. David St. Clair Roberts was called to operate on his eye, and was praised by Pataudi for saving one of his eyes.

The damage caused Pataudi to see a doubled image, and it was feared this would end his cricketing career, but Pataudi was soon in the nets, learning to play with one eye.

Despite his eye injury less than 6 months before, he made his Test debut playing against England in Delhi in December 1961.

He found it easiest to play with his cap pulled down over his damaged right eye.

He scored 103 in the Third Test in Madras, helping India to its first series win against England.

He played in 46 Test matches for India between 1961 and 1975, scoring 2,793 runs at a Test batting average of 34.91, including 6 Test centuries.

Mansoor was captain of the Indian cricket team in 40 of his 46 matches, only 9 of which resulted in victory for his team, with 19 defeats and 19 draws.

He was appointed vice-captain for the tour to the West Indies in 1962.

In March 1962, Mansoor became captain of the Indian cricket team after the sitting captain, Nari Contractor, was ruled out of the Fourth Test in Barbados due to an injury sustained by Contractor batting against Charlie Griffith in a tour match against Barbados.

He captained Sussex in 1966.

His victories included India's first ever Test match win overseas against New Zealand in 1968.

India went on to win that series, making it India's first ever Test series win overseas.

He lost the captaincy of the Indian cricket team for the tour to the West Indies in 1970–1, and did not play Tests from 1970 to 1972.

However, all were ended in 1971 by the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of India.

He returned to the India side captained by Ajit Wadekar in 1973, for the Third Test against England, and captained India against West Indies in 1974–5, but was finally dropped as a player in 1975.

He received the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001, the highest honour bestowed by BCCI on a former player.

Born in Bhopal, Mansoor Ali Khan was the son of Iftikhar Ali Khan, himself a renowned cricketer, and the Nawab Begum of Bhopal, Sajida Sultan.

His grandfather, Hamidullah Khan, was the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal, and his aunt, Abida Sultan, was the princess of Bhopal.

Kaikhusrau Jahan, the Begum of Bhopal, was his great-grandmother, and Shahryar Khan, the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board, was his first cousin.

He was the former Nawab of Bhopal State and Pataudi State.

At 21 years and 77 days, he held the world record for the youngest Test captain until he was surpassed by Zimbabwe's Tatenda Taibu in May 2004 and later by Afghanistan's Rashid Khan in September 2019.

As of November 2022, he remains the youngest Indian Test captain and third youngest International Test captain worldwide.